The Medill School of...oh, whatever

I went to college to study journalism. I chose Northwestern because it is home to the Medill School of Journalism. It's a fantastic school and as a result the name "Medill" carries weight in the industry, and I wanted to be a part of that.

So I've watched with waning interest and waxing exasperation as the Medill administration has been dicking around with the name of the school. At first they announced that it would just be "The Medill School," dropping the "of Journalism," as reflected in the current logo (above). This was done, they said, in consideration of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program, which is also housed in Medill (and which, in my opinion and that of others, really belongs in the Kellogg School of Management or perhaps the School of Communication).

We wouldn't want the IMCers feeling left out by having the name of a journalism school include the word "journalism" in it. I know, we're so thoughtful. But whatever, I can swallow that. It's not like the value of a Medill degree isn't understood.

But that solution was too simple, and someone* changed their mind, so earlier this month the faculty voted (38-5) to change the name to "The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing."

Let's just let that soak in for a minute.

The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing**

Seriously? At what point did we decide that verbose and gawky is better than clean and simple? And also that conjunctions are unnecessary? It just feels like we're trying too hard. It's inelegant. By attempting to list everything that Medill is, we limit ourselves to that list.

As a way to soothe our collective indignation, I did some brainstorming with my unofficial panel of fellow Medill alums for alternative title ideas. (Warning: They get progressively angrier.)

My suggestion: The Medill School of Muckraking, Pandering, Asyndeton
E.D.'s suggestion: The Medill School of Journalism and Not Journalism
T.H.'s suggestion: The Medill School of Whatever D.L.* Wants to Name It, Apparently
B.M.'s suggestion: Medill: Who Gives a Fuck So Long as It Sounds Pretentious

I'm proud to have studied journalism and to have graduated from Medill. But I don't have confidence in what this shift means for the program. I just hope that the word craft doesn't get lost amongst the verbiage.

* That'd be Medill's dean, John Lavine.

**UPDATE, 11:06 p.m. - So the Daily Northwestern messed up the name -- it should actually be the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. That's...so much better.